Gary Ablett, the Suns and the next chapter

[Boddo]

Gold Coast have no choice than play hard ball. They can't just let a bloke that has been pre-paid $500,000 waltz off when he is still under contract. They're being screwed on the field, at least they can make sure they are not screwed off it.

Unlike the JOM deal they hold the cards here as he is under contract. And I expect if he leaves the game , and I do think he will retire rather than play another season there, that the Suns will be in their rights to get some contract money back. And they'd probably be quite happy if he played out his final year too.

I have a feeling the Cats know how much this will be worth to them commercially (I can already here the "second coming" headlines) and that they'll blink

It's not so much playing hard ball it's just getting a fair deal. Geelong know this so they won't be terrible at it due to having to keep a good trading relationship. It's why Sydney sometimes takes slightly unders.

[Doctor J.]

I know quite a few Geelong supporters that are more than annoyed with talk of Ablett returning to Geelong.

They base this on the fact that Chris Scott has been very quick to end the careers of some loyal senior players who he deemed to be past their use by dates. Players such as Bartel, Johnson, Kelly, Chapman, Mooney, Scarlett, etc were all loyal players, played for less than market rates to keep the team together, but once they reached their use by dates were "retired".

Ablett is 33, older than Bartel's age when he played his last game, took the lure of a big cheque from the AFL's new bastard creation whilst his mates stayed behind on less money and developed a club culture that he now wants to return to. Don't know how Scott can justify having Ablett on the list given his past treatment of players of a similar age and at the risk of sending a player such as Menzel to the Gold Coast as part of the deal.

I truly hope Gold Coast play hard ball on this and make Geelong pay top dollar. I'm sick of Victorian clubs thinking they can just waltz into interstate clubs and take whoever they like.

[Mel_C]

I know quite a few Geelong supporters that are more than annoyed with talk of Ablett returning to Geelong.

They base this on the fact that Chris Scott has been very quick to end the careers of some loyal senior players who he deemed to be past their use by dates.

My brother is a Geelong supporter and this is exactly how he feels.

[AnnieH]

Ablett should just retire. He's no spring chicken and his body is beginning to give up.
This is the second year he's tried to go back to Geelong.
He seems like a petulant child who, if he doesn't get his own way, will spend the next 12 months sooking about it... like he did this year.
Sooky la-la.